There is a marvelous figure of holiness inscribed on the calendar today: Blessed Bartolo Longo, the great Apostle of the Rosary and the founder of the shrine of the Madonna of the Rosary at Pompei in Italy. Born in 1841, Blessed Longo died in 1926. He was a contemporary of Saint Faustina. Pope John Paul II beatified him in 1980. Several times in his pontificate, Pope John Paul II called our attention to the example of this holy layman, calling him luomo della Madonna, Our Ladys man.

Divine Mercy Displayed

Blessed Bartolo Longos story is a dramatic illustration of Divine Mercy. The mystery of Mercy announced by Saint Faustina played itself out in the life of Blessed Longo. As a young man, following studies in Law, Bartolo Longo abandoned his faith and allowed himself to be drawn into paths of great spiritual darkness. He practiced spiritism, found himself entrenched in the occult, and became a practicing Satanist. Longo went so far as to have himself ordained a priest of Satan. He very nearly lost his sanity, becoming a mere shadow of himself.

Spiritually Sick

In one particular séance Longo was distressed to see the face of the deceased king of Naples and the Two Sicilies: Ferdinand II. That same night he saw the soul of his mother circling his bed, begging him to return to the Catholic faith. His practice of the occult had so affected him that he was barely recognizable to those who once knew him as a handsome young man, full of vitality and promise. A Catholic friend, seeing him in such a pitiful spiritual, psychological, and physical state, begged him to at least meet with Father Radente, a wise Dominican priest. After some time, Longo made a thorough confession and, under the direction of this priest, began the reform of his life. He entered the Third Order of Saint Dominic, receiving the name, Brother Rosario.

Conversion and Healing

Bartolos Dominican spiritual father told him that the Mother of God promised that anyone who promoted her Rosary would assuredly be saved. The rest of Blessed Barolos life was dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary. The Rosary was his lifeline. The Rosary was the anchor of his salvation. The Rosary was the means by which the Holy Mother of God brought him back from hell. It was through the prayer of the Rosary that the Blessed Virgin healed his soul, restored him to health, and entrusted him with a mission. Later Blessed Bartolo wrote, What is my vocation? To write about Mary, to have Mary praised, to have Mary loved.

Rosary Apostolate

Blessed Longo reached out to the desperately poor, ignorant, and needy people of the town of Pompei. He taught them to pray the Rosary. The Rosary did for that entire town what it had done for him in his personal life; it brought healing, refreshment, holiness, joy, and peace. With the help of the Countess Mariana de Fusco whom he later married on the advice of Pope Leo XIII, while preserving with her his vow of chastity, Bartolo Longo undertook the construction of the church of the Madonna of the Rosary of Pompei. The city that grew up around it became the City of the Rosary.

He founded a congregation of Dominican Sisters to care for the poor. He established a school for boys. He wrote tirelessly in the service of Madonna and of her Rosary. His beautiful supplication to the Madonna of the Rosary has been translated into countless languages. Pope John Paul II prayed it when, on October 7, 2003, he visited Pompei to conclude the Year of the Rosary. In Italy, every year on the first Sunday of October, everything comes to a halt at noon while people, young and old, poor and rich, healthy and sick, pause to pray Blessed Longos supplication to the Virgin of the Rosary.

Divine Mercy Available to All

Saint Faustina made known the mystery of Divine Mercy. Blessed Bartolo Longo experienced Divine Mercy in a dramatic and deeply personal way. The same Divine Mercy is available to us: the mercy that brings back from hell, the mercy that raises the soul from spiritual death, the mercy that heals, restores, forgives, and repairs the past.

The Divine Mercy comes to us through the intercession of the Mother of God and, most efficaciously, through the humble prayer of the Rosary. It comes to us in the Sacrament of Penance: the mystery of the blood and the water from the side of Christ washing over the soul. And the Divine Mercy comes to us in the mystery of the Eucharist. The Mass is the real presence of Crucified Love. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is Divine Mercy flowing from the Heart of the Lamb, making saints out of sinners.

What matters is not what you are thinking or saying[when you are at adoration]for I am pleased and comforted and glorifiedby your simple being with Me.

Be present in My presence.This is what I ask of you.So many others among My priests leave Me alone in the Sacrament of My Love.They grow cold, indifferent, and hard-hearted.

An hour spent in My presencewould be enough to reinflame their hearts,to move them to gratitude, and to love,and to open their souls to the grace of My Friendship.

I ask only that My priests return to My altarsand that they seek Me in the tabernacleswhere I am truly present and waiting for them.So much sin can be avoidedand so many sins repairedby a simple act of loving presence to My Eucharistic Heart.

I am here for My priests.I will draw them to My Heart.I will reveal to them the priceless grace of My Divine Friendship.And, from the Sacrament of My Love,I shall renew the face of the priesthood in My Church.

The shortage of priests in some placesis caused, not by Me,but by the laxity that has come to prevailand, above all, by the great diminishment of prayerin the hearts and on the lips of my priests.Wheresoever my priests return to prayer,there will I cause a vast harvest of priestly vocations to spring up.I will multiply my priestsjust as I multiplied loaves and fishes to feed the multitude in the desert.

When priests forsake prayer,they forsake Me,and so I withdraw My blessing from their labours,and leave them to themselves,for without prayer -- without Me --they can do nothing.

Image: Dom Tarisse, Superior General of the Congregation of Saint-Maur

I have given Dom Benedict my blessing to pursue his study of the 17th century Monastic Breviary of the Benedictine Congregation of Saint Maur. The Maurist Breviary is a treasury of scriptural and patristic texts, artfully woven together so as to express luminously the mysteries of the feasts and seasons of the liturgical year. The Maurist Breviary is as suitable for lectio divina as it is for choral prayer. Dom Benedict will be sharing his discoveries, as time permits, on a new blog entitled, Pax Inter Spinas, A Modern Monk Discovers the Liturgical Riches of the Benedictine Congregation of Saint Maur (1621-1790). Do visit Pax Inter Spinas today.

In this letter to her friend, Marguerite, the beleaguered Duchess of Orléans, Mother Mectilde du Saint-Sacrement instructs her on the inner repose and joy that come from perfect detachment from all passing things. She tells the Duchess that what she has been seeking all along is rest in the Heart of Jesus, the centre of her soul, and that outside the Heart of Jesus, there is no real rest.

The Duchess has a hard life: a husband on whom she cannot rely, constant moving from one place to another, civil strife, the toxic intrigues of the court, financial worries, and more besides. Mother Mectilde tells her plainly that every created thing and situation here below is bitterness and affliction of spirit. She counsels her not to get wrapped up in passing things, but to live in the presence of God.

Then Mother Mectilde uses an emphatic triple rien: nothing, nothing, nothing. One cannot but be reminded of Saint John of the Cross, who, for that matter, she resembles in so many other ways. Nothing that is not for Him, she says, nothing outside of Him, and nothing loved that is not loved in Him.

I very much like Mother Mectilde's image of the adorable immensity in which we live, and move, and breathe, swimming like a sponge in the sea. She sees the ordinary Christian life as one of total immersion in God.

Do this, says Mother Mectilde, and prayer, that is, conversation with God, will become easy. She wants the Duchess to understand that by losing everything, she is losing nothing, and gaining the bliss that comes from attachment to God alone.

This is, I think, one of the texts in which Mother Mectilde comes closest in her teaching to that of the Spanish mystics, Saint Teresa of Jesus and Saint John of the Cross.

Repose in the Heart of Jesus

I was much gratified that yesterday you assured me of your health. This is news that brings me much joy. I pray Our Lord to continue giving it to you. But, with all the blessings that I wish for you, you will be in a perfect repose, by a holy union and transformation in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is the blessed centre of your soul, to which, for a long time already, you aspire. In truth, this is the true and essential repose.

Nothing, Nothing, Nothing

All the earth and its creatures are but bitterness and affliction of spirit, you know it well. The most deeply felt regret of our soul at death will be that we have not separated our heart from all that is created, and that we have often preferred creatures to the love of Jesus, by letting ourselves get too wrapped up in human things. Every day let us go to God with a holy resolution to do nothing that is not for Him, to desire nothing outside of Him, and to loving nothing except in Him.

In God Like a Sponge in the Sea

Let us see and do all things in this adorable immensity in which we swim like a sponge in the sea. No matter where we turn, we are in God. We move, and live, and breathe in Him, but often without thinking of it. Mother Mectilde wants the Duchess to walk in the presence of God, and discover the happiness that comes from possessing Him by faith.

Walk Thou in My Presence

Let us mind ourselves lest we continue our petty negligences, and hasten to become attentive to this admirable Presence. Jesus so deserves our attention. One must often arrest one's focus on this divine object, remembering the precious lesson given that God gave Abraham: "Walk thou in my presence, and thou shalt be perfect." Now, there is a law of perfection that is very amiable, very gentle, and very sweet. Become faithful to it, and partake of the supreme happiness of the saints, which is to possess God in this world by faith, whilst we wait to possess him by glory in heaven.

Joy in the Love of God

A soul that finds no more satisfaction in the objects of the earth will not find it difficult to converse with God and to take all her delights in Him. Be content that you're no longer finding your joys among creatures, so that henceforth, you may find them all in Him who loves you with a love that is infinite and eternel.

The Precious Flames of Love

I pray Him to consume you in His precious flames, and make me worthy of being, with all the profound respects I owe you, all yours.

Jesus said to them, "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, ´Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.´" Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."

Introductory Prayer:Lord, I believe that you are with me as I begin this prayer. I trust in your kindness and love. You know my weaknesses because you saw them all during the agony you underwent for me on Good Friday. I wish to stay as close to you in this prayer as your Mother did to you at the foot of the cross. Accept this as the expression of my love for you.

Petition: Lord, help me to appreciate your gifts and use them to the best of my ability, for your glory.

1. The Privileged Few: Today we see another side of Jesus in the Gospel. Often we see him as the miracle worker, curing the sick, raising the dead. But now we see the flipside of these miracles: Christ demands a response from the people who have witnessed them. It´s not enough that people stare in wonderment at Our Lord´s mighty deeds. Those deeds, among other things, prove his divine origin and the truthfulness of his message. Part of that message demands repentance and conversion. Closer to our own day we can think of the tens of millions of people who personally saw Pope John Paul II in his many public appearances. How many of those people actually changed their lives after the encounter? How have I responded to God´s grace and favor in my life? Have I taken God´s graces for granted?

2. The Not-so-Blessed: God, in his mysterious design seems, to favor some souls with gifts not given to others. Here, Jesus acknowledges that Tyre and Sidon  pagan towns  would have responded better to his miracles than did Chorazin and Capernaum. That begs the question: Why didn´t Jesus perform more miracles in those Gentile towns? Alas, ours is not the place to question the wisdom of God. Suffice it to say that Christ gives some of us more than he gives others, and he expects to see a return on his investment. It´s not enough that we keep our faith untarnished and sitting on a shelf, hidden from the world. No. The gift of faith should prompt us to strive for holiness, for continual conversion of heart, and for zeal to build the Church. Does faith impact my life like that?

3. Domino Effect: Christ´s authority includes his ability to delegate it. To the Church, he gives the power to bind and to loose. "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained" (John 20:23). Moreover, Number 891 of the Catechism observes that "The Roman Pontiff, head of the college of bishops, enjoys [ ] infallibility in virtue of his office, when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful -- who confirms his brethren in the faith -- he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals." When we follow the Holy Father´s teaching, we honor the One who gave him authority. And Our Lord´s authority extends in other areas: to parents over their dependent children, to government officials who oversee the common good, etc. Do I respect the legitimate authority of those around me? Do I understand that obedience to legitimate authority is a form of obedience to God himself?

Conversation with Christ:Jesus, help me see that your obedience to Pilate on Good Friday was part of your obedience to your loving Father in heaven. Let me understand that obedience to legitimate authority is a means of growth in humility and holiness.

Resolution: I will carry out one request that a legitimate authority (a boss, a parent, etc.) has been asking of me and do it with joy.

He Who Hears You

HE WHO HEARS YOU, HEARS ME. HE WHO REJECTS YOU REJECTS ME. AND HE WHO REJECTS ME REJECTS HIM WHO SENT ME. The Lord Jesus was keenly aware of his life as a mission from the Father to his own people. This consciousness of representing his heavenly Father was already dominant from the time of his emergence from childhood. St. Luke reports that at the age of twelve Jesus had a strong conviction that he must be occupied with his Fathers business. He considered this so decidedly the case that he felt it would be evident to his mother as well as to himself. When she found him in the temple after she had sought him with great anxiety for three days his reaction was to reproach her for not realizing, as he put it, that I must be about my Fathers concerns (Luke 249).

Later in his ministry he claimed that his witness was true for it was supported by his Father who was with him. When his critics challenged him to prove this he simply replied that the reason they resisted him was that they neither know him nor the Father (John 8:19). In other words, in order to be united with the Lord by accepting his witness, one must have learned to see how Christ is one with the Father, not only representing him in his mission but making him present.

This claim of our Lord that he is so united with the Father that in him the Father is present and acting is the basis of the declaration we have just heard in todays Gospel text. HE WHO HEARS YOU, HEARS ME. HE WHO REJECTS YOU REJECTS ME. AND HE WHO REJECTS ME REJECTS HIM WHO SENT ME  This teaching was on another occasion supplemented by a further statement which lends an added dimension to the issue of giving credence to Jesus word and placing our trust in his person. For he made obedience to his teaching the expression and test of love. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. (John 14: 15) The hearing Jesus mentions in our text includes both faith and obedience. To hear his words is to put faith in them and to apply them to life in obedience to their directives.

Further, as he tell us here, just as the Father speaks in him so he speaks in those he sends in turn to spread his word by their witness and their preaching. The condition for accepting Christ, then, and understanding the revelation he brings from the Father is the ability to penetrate beyond the surface of Our Lords person and recognize in him with the eyes of the spirit a divine presence that is no one less than God, the Father almighty. With these same spiritual eyes, cleansed by faith, we must also see him in those he appoints as the teachers and preachers in his Church.

The eyes of our spirit are opened through the action of the Holy Spirit of God within us. The inner vision is the fruit of his love as well as of our own loving desire to see Christ in his words and the Father in Christ. In this way we come to know him in the reality of truth. Knowing him enables us to hear what he says to us and to carry it out, for his word is Spirit and life. And when his Spirit lives and moves in us we have the strength to live as Jesus lives united with the Father in all manner of doing and being.

One Bread, One Body

AFRAID OF STORMS?

"The Lord addressed Job out of the storm." Job 38:1

When we are in a storm, we either ask Jesus to stop the storm or get us out of it. He rarely answers the second request (at least right away) and only occasionally grants the first one. The Lord usually leaves us in an unquieted storm for quite a while, as He did with Job.

However, what the Lord does is to question us in such a way as to point out our finitude and His infinitude (see Jb 38:12ff). The Lord tries to change our attitude toward Him, ourselves, and life. With a changed attitude, storms don't seem so bad after all. We may even change from being preoccupied with storms to hardly noticing them. This attitude change is called receiving the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom about life, including storms (Ps 111:10). In the fear of the Lord, we're more concerned about our repentance than our comfort. We're more concerned about God than ourselves.

At Confirmation, the bishop or his delegate prayed for us to receive the fear of the Lord (Is 11:2-3). If God is having His way, we are "making steady progress in the fear of the Lord" (Acts 9:31). Pray that a reverent fear will soon overtake you (Acts 2:43). Live in fear  not fear of man, but the fear of the Lord.

Prayer: Father, through the intercession of St. Francis, I ask that a "great fear" of the Lord come upon the whole Church (Acts 5:11).

Promise: "He who hears you, hears Me. He who rejects you, rejects Me. And he who rejects Me, rejects Him Who sent Me." Lk 10:16

Praise: Mel and Marcy remained steadfast in hope as their young son battled leukemia. They used their many opportunities to witness to their faith in Jesus. By God's mercy, their son has been in remission for years.

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